Shaunta Grimes

Tiny Grimes - Callin' The Blues (1958) {Prestige OJCCD-191-2 rel 1994)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 215 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 7 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958, 1994 Prestige / Fantasy | OJCCD-191-2
Jazz / Bop / Jazz Blues / Guitar / Trombone

This CD is a straight reissue of the original LP. Guitarist Tiny Grimes, who led three albums for Prestige and Swingville from 1958-59, welcomed two extroverted horn players (tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and veteran trombonist J.C. Higginbotham), plus pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Osie Johnson, to his heated session. The group plays three original blues and "Airmail Special." Although J.C., who had a long decline, sounds a bit past his prime, plenty of sparks fly throughout the date, particularly from Grimes and Lockjaw.

This 1969 BBC production is about as close as we can get to a definitive version of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes, one of the greatest 20th Century operas. The story of the individualistic fisherman hounded by his neighbors who believe he murdered his young apprentice packs tremendous emotional power. The compelling narrative is richly enhanced by its subtexts: the lone outsider versus the conformist mob; the dreamer of improbable dreams that lead to tragedy; the artist (dreamer) versus the Philistines, and the homosexual overtones of Grimes' abuse of his child apprentices. Britten is conductor of his work and tenor Peter Pears is Grimes, 25 years after he created the title role at the opera's premiere. Britten was a great conductor as his recordings of his own and others' music attests, and here he outdoes himself with a performance that captures both the brooding darkness of the work and its visceral power.